The Woodcarver's Secret

For John Carver, a simple Celtic woodworker, life is a struggle to feed his family. Then one summer day, as he walks past a near-dead alder tree, lightning strikes. With the shattered tree lying all around him, Carver pulls himself up and decides to make the best of it - he takes the usable pieces to his workshop. From the shards of that dead tree John creates three boxes. Then the unexplained happens - shortly after handling one of them, John's touch brings his young son back from the brink of death.

Elusive: On the Run, Book 1

Zoe Hunter loves living on the edge. Free-spirited and spontaneous, she’s built a life stringing together various freelance gigs that keep her bank account barely in the black. But when her ex, Jack, goes missing along with several million dollars from his business and the FBI zeros in on her as a person of interest, Zoe’s life goes from delightfully unpredictable to downright frightening.

A Field of Red

Ex-cop Frank Harper doesn't want to get involved. Harper is visiting the small Ohio town of Cooper's Mill, trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter and a grandson he's never met. But he finds the town gripped in fear - two young girls have gone missing, taken in broad daylight from a busy street. And the police are coming up blank. But once Harper is drawn reluctantly into the investigation, he'll stop at nothing to find the girls. And he doesn't care who gets in the way.

One O'Clock Hustle: Rebecca Mayfield Mysteries, Book 1

When San Francisco Homicide Inspector Rebecca Mayfield arrives at the scene of a deadly shooting, she's shocked to find that the witnesses have caught the killer, and that he's someone she knows. Rebecca's a by-the-book detective, and she's always done her job according to the rules, without hesitation, until Richie Amalfi comes back into her life.

Take the Monkeys and Run (A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery #1): A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery

Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia. Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie's Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor.

Blood Orchids

Lei has overcome a scarred past to make a life for herself as a cop in the sleepy Big Island town of Hilo. On a routine patrol she finds two murdered teenagers - one of whom she'd recently busted. With its echoes of her own past, the murdered girl's harsh life and tragic death affect Lei deeply. She becomes obsessed - even as the killer is drawn to Lei's intensity, feeding off her vulnerabilities and toying with her sanity.

Skeletons in the Closet: The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag, Book 1

Maggie Phillips hasn't had it easy. As the wife of retired Navy SEAL, and the adoptive mother of two little hellions, Maggie is constantly looking for ways to improve her family's financial situation. She accepts a cleaning position for her new neighbors (who redefine the term eccentric), never imagining she will end up as the sole alibi for a man with a fascination for medieval torture devices when he is brought up on murder charges.

Wanna Get Lucky?

When a young woman plunges from a Las Vegas tour helicopter, landing in the Pirate’s lagoon in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in the middle the 8:30 Pirate Show, almost everyone wrote her off as another Vegas victim. But Lucky O’Toole, the wise-cracking Head of Customer Relations at the Babylon, the newest, most over-the-top mega-resort on the Strip, smelled a rat.

Trouble in Mudbug

Scientist Maryse Robicheaux thought that a lot of her problems had gone away with her mother-in-law's death. The woman was rude, pushy, manipulative and used her considerable wealth to run herd over the entire town of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn't slow down Helena one bit. DEA Agent Luc LeJeune is wondering what his undercover assignment investigating the sexy scientist has gotten him into - especially as it seems someone wants her dead.

Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery

It's the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie's husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide, and to pay off a debt, one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns. Annie also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco's most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of her clients has died. The police believe his death was suicide, but Annie believes he was murdered.

Once Gone: A Riley Paige Mystery, Book 1

Women are turning up dead on the rural outskirts of Virginia, killed in grotesque ways, and when the FBI is called in they are stumped. A serial killer is out there, his frequency increasing, and they know there is only one agent good enough to crack this case: Special Agent Riley Paige. Riley is on paid leave, recovering from her encounter with her last serial killer, and, fragile as she is, the FBI is reluctant to tap her brilliant mind. Yet Riley, needing to battle her own demons, comes onboard.

Louisiana Longshot: A Miss Fortune Mystery, Book 1

It was a hell of a long shot.... CIA assassin Fortune Redding is about to undertake her most difficult mission ever - in Sinful, Louisiana. With a leak at the CIA and a price placed on her head by one of the world's largest arms dealers, Fortune has to go off-grid, but she never expected to be this far out of her element.

Whiskey Rebellion

My name is Addison Holmes, and I teach history at James Madison High School in Whiskey Bayou, Georgia. You might be under the assumption that my life went to the dogs when my fiancé left me at the altar for the home economics teacher, or when I got notice that my apartment building was going to be condemned, or even when I was desperate enough to strip to my unmentionables to earn some extra cash. The truth is that I'm pretty much used to disasters following me around on a daily basis.

Armed and Outrageous: An Agnes Barton Mystery , Book 1

Agnes Barton is not your typical senior citizen living in Tadium, MI, on the shores of Lake Huron. She drives a red hot Mustang, shops at Victoria's Secret, rankles local police officials, and has a knack for sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. What does a murder that happened forty-three years ago have to do with missing tourist Jennifer Martin? Agnes makes it her personal mission to find out, and she's not letting the fact she's seventy-two get in the way.

Before He Kills: A MacKenzie White Mystery, Book 1

In the cornfields of Nebraska a woman is found murdered, strung up on a pole, the victim of a deranged killer. It doesn't take long for the police to realize a serial killer is on the loose - and that his spree has just begun.

Dirty Little Secrets: A J.J. Graves Mystery, Book 1

J.J. Graves has seen a lot of dead bodies in her line of work... She's not only in the mortuary business, but she's also the coroner for King George County, Virginia. When a grisly murder is discovered in the small town of Bloody Mary, it's up to J.J. and her best friend, Detective Jack Lawson, to bring the victim justice. The murders are piling up...

Bundle of Trouble: A Maternal Instincts Mystery, Book 1

Kate Connelly may have found the perfect work-from-home Mommy job: private investigator. After all, the hours are flexible, she can bring the baby along on stake-outs, and if you’re going to be up all night anyway, you might as well solve some crimes. But when a body is pulled from San Francisco Bay that may be her brother-in-law, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say “diaper rash” in order to keep her family together.

Gone the Next

Meet Roy Ballard, freelance videographer with a knack for catching insurance cheats. He's working a routine case, complete with hours of tedious surveillance, when he sees something that shakes him to the core. There, with the subject, is a little blond girl wearing a pink top and denim shorts - the same outfit worn by Tracy Turner, a six-year-old abducted the day before. When the police are skeptical of Ballard's report - and with his history, who can blame them? - it's the beginning of the most important case of his life.

Bed, Breakfast, and Bones: A Ravenwood Cove Cozy Mystery

Amanda Graham inherited a rundown bed and breakfast, a starving cat, and some dead guy who's buried in her garden! What should've been a simple remodeling project and a new business in a small Oregon beach town winds up with her uncle named as the number-one murder suspect, a slew of odd neighbors and problematic townspeople, and Amanda wanting to just sit down and eat her weight in chocolate pie.

Sign Off: Caught Dead in Wyoming, Book 1

The last time anyone in Cottonwood County, Wyoming saw Sheriff's Deputy Foster Redus, he was bloody, cussing, and driving his pimped-out pickup into the November darkness. A week before Christmas, rancher Thomas David Burrell was arrested for the assault and charged with the deputy's murder, since neither Redus nor his truck had been seen since the Monday after Thanksgiving. The prosecutor later set Burrell free due to insufficient evidence, but with the whole county still suspecting him of the crime...

Remorseless: Doc Powers & D.I. Carver Investigate #1

Peter Leech is a cunning, devious killer, brutalized by half a lifetime in prison for the vicious murder of his parents. Now he's up for parole and, one way or another, he wants out. He's driven by obsessive lust for Judy Finch, a beautiful parole officer who spurned his advances, and his thirst for revenge on those he blames for his conviction. His nemesis, Doc Powers, the forensic psychiatrist who assessed his mental health for trial, is now on the panel reviewing Leech's parole application. But Doc fears for his own sanity.

Cause to Kill: An Avery Black Mystery, Book 1

Homicide Detective Avery Black has been through hell. Once a top criminal defense attorney, she fell from grace when she managed to get a brilliant Harvard professor off - only to watch him kill again. She lost her husband and her daughter, and her life fell apart around her.

In for a Penny: The Granny Series

When Lillian Summer Fairview's husband up and dies on her, it leaves the last living member of the most prestigious family in Summer Shoals, Georgia, in a hot mess. While Lil was busy being a proper Southern lady, Harlan squandered dang near the whole family fortune on lottery tickets. To keep her financial skeletons in the closet and give him a decent burial, Lil made a deal that has now landed her in prison.

Buck Fever: A Blanco County Mystery, Book 1

It's the week before deer hunting season, as close to a statewide holiday as you get in Texas, and the locals are getting restless. Game Warden John Marlin has his hands full with poaching complaints coming in faster than he can write out-of-season tickets. Then a call of a different sort comes in. A man dressed up in some sort of deer costume has been shot at the Circle S ranch, and witnesses are reporting a massive wild-eyed buck prancing about the pasture in a lovesick frenzy.

Publisher's Summary

Hetta Coffey is a globe-trotting civil engineer with attitude who is working on coming of age, a little late. Pushing forty and still single, Hetta is the epitome of the "B" word: bold, bossy, brassy, breezy, and brash. After leaving a lifelong swath of failed multinational affairs in her jet stream, it is no wonder Hetta prefers living with her dog, R.J. But old habits die hard, and trolling for triceps is Hetta's hobby.

Plying the waterfront in search of Saturday brunch, Hetta's attention is snagged by a parade of passing yachts - especially their predominantly male skippers - and experiences a champagne-induced epiphany: If she had a boat, she could get a man. In hopes a floating Valhalla will overcome an all-time low-water mark in her life, Hetta buys her dream boat in spite of a spectacular ignorance of all things nautical. But a shadowy stalker, an inconvenient body, and Hetta's own self-destructive foibles imperil not only her new life, but a newly- found romance.

A delightful little story with a few bad guys, a few good guys and a dog. While it was somewhat predictable, it was so well written that I didn’t mind. Now I understand the term “cozy” mystery. I rather like Hetta, and I am hoping that a few of the other characters will be continuing on, as well. 4.5 stars.

This was a funny story with a good plot. The characters are likable and believable. However the mystery doesn't come until the last quarter of the book. The rest of the book is more like a romance novel. But like I said the plot is good. If you want more mystery than romance this is not the book for you.

The plot took a bit to unfold but the author writes very well so it was all fun to listen to. I'm disappointed the book is over and want to listen to the entire series. The heroine is nice but not perfect which I like, she's very human and interesting. All the characters have depth. I loved this novel. I'm a dog lover and thought she did a great job with her relationship with her dog. The heroine feels like a friend

This book gets better toward the end, but gets off to a pretty slow start. The plot is really enjoyable, but I found myself wanting to skip over the unimportant bits (which you can't really do in an audio book). I have already downloaded the next book in the series, and I'm looking forward to seeing if it's any better.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I like the narrator. After 2 1/2 hrs I did feel like I had gotten anywhere but I am an impatient person. I was just tired of all the characters and after a few hours I just wanted the author to 'get to the point'. I had pretty much figured it out within 4 or 5 hours so it became tedious BUT the narrator was very good.

What could Jinx Schwartz have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

WTH? I can't believe the author did this! Introduce a lovable wonderful dog as a character and then have the poor dog die a horrible death! No thanks! This "light hearted caper" should come with a warning label! And besides that there was no mystery to speak of at all. Really can't recommend it.